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Old 04-22-2009, 04:32 PM
 
1 posts, read 2,336 times
Reputation: 10

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I am 30 years old with an 8 year old son from MS but currently living in Memphis TN. I am really seeking to move somewhere that has a family setting but without the poverish feel. The south is too depressive to me. I want to live where I can still have a place for my son to play safely but I don't have to be in poverty or near a field in the country parts of MS or TN out in the middle of nowhere.

I am very fond of learning and education and I want my son to be in the presence of the best. BUT I also want him to live in an environment that he can grow safely.

I was raised as a country girl with gardens and I love that life but not the poverty.

I still love nature and would like to be in a city that respects nature.

Lastly, I want to be somewhere I can make good pay as a teacher.

Please help!
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Old 04-22-2009, 04:51 PM
 
Location: West Columbia, SC
393 posts, read 1,220,284 times
Reputation: 111
Illinois does pay its teachers better, even when adjusted for cost of living:
http://www.myshortpencil.com/schoolt.../2522/4443.gif
http://www.ocregister.com/newsimages...alariesWEB.gif

The southern part of Illinois is similar to the Tennessee in look and feel. Perhaps the most well-off, economically diversified and populated but natural county in Illinois is McHenry County. I have no idea what they pay their teachers there, but it has to be higher then Memphis.
McHenry County, Illinois - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Old 04-23-2009, 12:01 AM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,340,675 times
Reputation: 6427
I think you might like Peoria. It has a diverse political, religious and culture. There are those who say the Peoria school system is bad. It is only as bad as the parents who do not care. My son graduated from highschool with honors. Three of my inlaws were IL teachers for 35 years. Instead, the basice problem is not the school system as much as the schools that are located in undesirable locations.

I think a good location that offers what you want might be Peoria Heights.
Village of Peoria Heights It is an charming, Village nestled on the bluffs overlooking the bluffs Illinois River Valleyu and the Eastern most boundary of the City of Peoria. It is independent with its own k-12 school system. It's about 10 minutes (3 miles) from the malls and the major shopping areas. Its in between a top rated zoo and Glen Oak Park that offers free Satruday night family movies, and the observaory.

In and round Peoria Home - City of Peoria, Illinois you'll find summer stock, opera, ballet, symphony as well as a riverfront plaza, and a wild animal state park. If you don't mind the night lullaby you can sleep there too. If you want educational things you can find a fish hatchery, Native American meseum and archaelogical dig Welcome to ISM Dickson Mounds Museum--Dickson Mounds Museum, Lewistown winery, pottery, microbrewry, glassblower and even a fellow who hand rolls cigars. If you like nature, you surrounded by rolling and high tree covered bluffs with hiking and biking trails. Some of the events are a mini-state fair, Spoon River Drive (Fulton County rolls back the clock to 1800s), Pumpkin Festval, and one of the largest nignt time Christmas parades and displays in the nation.

With 60+ parks, Peoria has one of the largest park systems outside of Chicago. The three largest are under 1000 acres each. Peoria Park District

Peoria also has pro-sports rivermen.net: Entry Page and Peoria Chiefs: Home as well as an awesome library system, upscale shopping The Shoppes at Grand Prairie , Simon Malls | More Choices — Northwoods Information, Northwoods Gift Cards and dining at Jim's
Jim's Steak House - Peoria, IL and four country clubs. It is part of a five county Metropolitan Statistical Araa that has an estimated popultion of 370.000. Peoria is the largest city with a pop of a little over 100,000. The only thing you cannt find in this area is Trader Joe's, Costco and Whole Foods - that are in Chicago. However Peoria does have a large whole foods/natural foods store in the Metro Center on N. University. There is a hospital in every county. If you live in or near Peoria, the nearest hospital is in Peoria.

The other population areas are Bloominton-Normal. It is a white collar, ultra conservative town, Springfield is political; it's the state capital, and Champaign-Urbana a college town. Having lived in and around Peoria for 60 years, and raised kids there, and lived in all the counties at one time or the other. They are all compact and surrounded by farmers and ranchers. Peoria sprawls as one border is the Illinois River. I believe Peoria area offers kids more.due to its cultural diversity. You can find old tree covered streets as easily as you can find new cookie-cutter subdivisions with few mature trees. I think the subs are too sterile.

Peoria has residents of all cultures and all colors. It was built on blue-collar industry and farming and old money. Your millionaire may well be wearing Smith overalls because he just came out of the fields to see the banker, or his cows just dropped. It is what Illinois is. A farming state with pockets of MSAs. We feed the world. .

Peoria has three hospitals and a medical school. Peoria Heights is less than 10 minutes from Proctor the nearest hospital. Proctor also has an after-hours clinic that is open until 11pm at night. It's about 15 minutes from Peoria Heights.

The biggest hurdle you eill have is getting licensed. I believe it takes close to one year, but I believe you can teach privately while the process vontinues. I found ten private schools not including Montessori. Peoria also has university plus a nearby college. The Peoria Park District offers classes A-Z year round. They are traught by lay persons who set their own price.

Here is some information for teachers interested in transfer:
Illinois Teacher Certification . And Also this: STATE OF ILLINOIS TEACHER CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Do come and spend a week before you make a findal decision. In the meantime these are two of the largest newspapers in the area. One in Peoria and the other in Pekin. It will give you a bit of an idea of who is dowing what and where.

Peoria: Home - Peoria, IL - pjstar.com
Pekin: Homepage - Pekin, IL - Pekin Daily Times
also
Canton: Homepage - Canton, IL - Canton Daily Ledger
Springifled: Home - Springfield, IL - The State Journal-Register
Bloomington: Pantagraph.com | Central Illinois News, Sports, Classifieds and More
Normal: Normalite Newspaper the human side of the news of the Normal Community
Lincoln: Homepage - Lincoln, IL - Lincoln Courier
Champaign: The News-Gazette.com: Your Source for News and Advertising in East Central Illinois
Urbana: see above
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Old 04-23-2009, 01:16 AM
 
260 posts, read 1,147,517 times
Reputation: 82
Two words- Bloomington-Normal.
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Old 04-23-2009, 08:00 AM
 
28,453 posts, read 85,580,237 times
Reputation: 18731
Try Iowa. Seriously. Generally near the top in terms of elementary schools, both in terms of achievement and teacher pay AS A PERCENTAGE of HOUSING AFFORDABILITY -- a very useful measure of what you salary will mean in terms of lifestyle!

Minnesota ranks better than Illinois, as does Wisconsin, and even the Dakotas as well as Kansas & Nebraska. Of course weather is pretty rough in the upper midwest, but you can't have everything...
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Old 04-23-2009, 08:32 AM
 
Location: Central Illinois
6 posts, read 13,723 times
Reputation: 10
Bloomington-Normal is one of the TOP 'best places to live' in the midwest, and as another poster mentioned, the schools PAY WELL, with Unit 5 (Normal) among the best in the state. District 87 (Bloomington) is a fair 'second choice', if you had to teach in one district while waiting for placement in Unit 5...
However, the cost of living in Bloomington-Normal is getting up there, especially for a single mother and one young child, unless you're of substantial means and can afford to purchase a house and trade the high rents for the high mortgages...
My suggestion would be to look into CLINTON, ILLINOIS. The prices for houses here are INCREDIBLY low for fair to good quality, most being move-in ready. This area, a nice quiet 'Mayberry' type town just south of B-N by about 22 miles, is relatively cheap to live ONLY because the urban sprawl and 'gentrification' (where the wealthier professionals 'discover' a small outlying country town and suddenly upend the real estate market by 'moving in' en masse and re-habbing everything in sight) has not hit it YET! Many here are expecting this to happen SOON, however, with the recent economy problems causing many to lose their upscale homes in B-N to foreclosure, and thereby causing many B-Nfamilies to start looking elsewhere for a safe neighborhood and decent but low-priced housing...
We moved to Clinton from B-N four years ago, buying our BIG, stately and move-in-ready Victorian for a steal at LESS than $50,000! My mortgage payments (roughly $450 a month INCLUDES prperty taxes AND $100,000 home/property insurance) are HALF what I expected to pay on RENT in B-N for a 2 bedroom apartyment in a MODEST neighborhood.
You can always find a SWEET older home in good shape for $20,000 to $60,000!
Check it out by doing a Google search on Clinton Illinois, real estate (or property)...
It's a pleasant 20 to 25 minute drive to B-N from Clinton, about the SAME amount of time it takes to just drive across Bloomington!!

Good luck, and hope you find your own 'Mayberry'.
They ARE still 'out here'....

:-)

Wishing you the best of luck...
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Old 04-23-2009, 01:26 PM
 
Location: Peoria, IL
148 posts, read 625,766 times
Reputation: 56
Well, just considering the area I live (Central Illinois) the two larger cities that best fit your description are Bloomington-Normal & Springfield. (Maybe Champaign-Urbana, but I'm not too familiar with the school system there). I wouldn't call either one of these cities a nature lovers paradise in stunningly beautiful settings, they're both set in the middle of miles & miles of flat corn & soybean fields, but they do have some decent parks in town & some recreational opportunities (lakes, small state parks within a short drive). Most schools in the decent areas of both these cities are pretty good. Both cities are little over 100,000 in pop.

If you're looking for a smaller town to live in, then that opens up several more possibilities. There's lots of smaller towns around here. Just to think of a few: there's Clinton as jipsi suggested. There's also, Dunlap (although Dunlap might be a bit too pricey), Morton & Washington surrounding Peoria (or the outer northern or western fringe of Peoria itself). There's Riverton, Chatham, Sherman & Rochester surrounding Springfield. Again I wouldn't call any of these places a nature lovers paradise, but there is some scenery. The Illinois River valley makes the scenery around Peoria in Dunlap, Morton & Washington more interesting.

I'm not sure what price you have in mind for real estate. Several people I've known that have moved here from MS are shocked at the real estate prices (high by that standard). But since you've lived in Memphis, they may seem really cheap. Real estate prices in the larger cities here are generally just a bit below the national average. They are much lower in the smaller towns.
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Old 04-23-2009, 05:55 PM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,340,675 times
Reputation: 6427
You said you don't want near cornfields or poverty. You want nature, you want a safe area and good system, you want to teach. Poverty is all over the United States. Bloomington, Peoria, Normal, Springfield all have poor sections in town.

The part of central Illinois where Peoria is located fronts the Illinois river for 80 miles. You'll find cornfields 15--20 miles away, but not next door. Unless you live in the newly opened subdivision you won't find one. You will definately not see one anywhere near Peoria Heights.
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Old 04-27-2009, 12:49 AM
 
Location: Chicago and Santa Barbara,Ca.
67 posts, read 325,173 times
Reputation: 30
I would suggest Bolingbrook/Naperville.....
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Old 04-29-2009, 12:01 PM
 
25 posts, read 63,874 times
Reputation: 10
Default Come to Northwest Indiana

Quote:
Originally Posted by ProsperityMinded View Post
I am 30 years old with an 8 year old son from MS but currently living in Memphis TN. I am really seeking to move somewhere that has a family setting but without the poverish feel. The south is too depressive to me. I want to live where I can still have a place for my son to play safely but I don't have to be in poverty or near a field in the country parts of MS or TN out in the middle of nowhere.

I am very fond of learning and education and I want my son to be in the presence of the best. BUT I also want him to live in an environment that he can grow safely.

I was raised as a country girl with gardens and I love that life but not the poverty.

I still love nature and would like to be in a city that respects nature.

Lastly, I want to be somewhere I can make good pay as a teacher.

Please help!

More specifically, I'd suggest a school district with good reputation. I'd consider CrownPoint, IN; St. John; or Munster. These have good school systems and do pay well. St. John on the other hand may be a bit more expensive. The questions is - what is your budget for living expenses.
You can rent in Munster and Schererville for around 700-1000 for a decent place.
Still good (surrounding) country side-like living and several lakes and forest preserves to visit.
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